2020 Liga MX Femenil Clausura recap - Week 3

Liga MX Femenil took a cue from their varonil counterparts this week with some very fun games to watch with some legitimately surprising results. Thanks in part to teams getting closer to one another in terms of parity, there seem to be fewer teams that can be chalked up as easy wins by some of the upper echelon. Adding to this, some teams are also dealing with players missing time for a third straight week in preparation for Olympic qualifying. To their credit, teams are getting on with it and not making excuses. Nevertheless, she persisted.

Cruz Azul 0, Atlas 1: Both teams played well but it was Alison González’ tight-angle golazo in the 12th minute that was the difference on the scoreboard. Both goalkeepers had exceptional games, with Ana Gaby Paz getting her second clean sheet of the season and Karla Morales playing well to give up just the one goal. Both teams finished down a player, with Atlas’ Zellyka Arce and Cruz Azul’s Cinthia Huerta being shown two yellow cards.

Querétaro 0, FC Juárez 2: Goals from Atzimba Casas and Silvia Elicerio gave FC Juárez their second win in club history as they beat Querétaro 2-0. Casas’ goal came in the 72nd minute when Elicerio played her in on goal with a fantastic through-ball. Casas drew out goalkeeper Ivette Alvarado, who collided with one of her own defenders to allow Casas to walk the ball into the net. Casas returned the favor in stoppage time when she drove in and angled a back pass to Elicerio, who hit a curling shot that beat Alvarado. Juárez goalkeeper Silvia Machuca got her second consecutive shutout and sixth in her career.

UNAM Pumas 2, Monterrey 2: Whlie Pumas has struggled a bit lately, Ileana Dávila’s team played a fantastic game against a the defending champions and wound up with a respectable 2-2 tie. Pumas started off well and were rewarded in the 23rd minute when Deneva Cagigas was able to get to a corner kick and propel it past goalkeeper Claudia Lozoya. Rayadas equalized in the 35th minute when Desirée Monsiváis was played through and beat goalkeeper Melany Villeda, who had come off of her line to try and cut down on the window Monsiváis had to shoot at. The play was close and would have been a great candidate for a VAR review if it was permitted under Liga MX Femenil rules. Monsiváis scored again in the 50th minute when Daniela Solís made a run down the left wing and hit a cross that created chaos on the Pumas back line. Monsiváis was able to get to the rebound and poke the ball home. Pumas didn’t give up however and really dug deep to try and get an equalizer, and they were rewarded in the 85th minute when Daniela García hit a rocket from just outside of the box that beat Lozoya.

América 3, Santos Laguna 2: A good game that could have gone either way. Santos had some good chances early, hitting the crossbar in the 12th minute. It would be the hosts however that broke through first when in the 23rd minute Santos was unable to clear out a throw in and Alexia Villanueva was able to corral it and hit a shot back against the grain that goalkeeper Wendy Toledo just couldn’t get to. Santos threatened to tie before halftime but couldn’t get one past goalkeeper Heidi González until after the break. In the 55th minute, Cinthya Peraza hit a beautiful free kick from just outside of the box to pull level. Five minutes later Janae González went down the right side of the box, made a move, and put a shot in on goal. Toledo stopped the shot but the rebound went to Marlyn Campa for a close range goal. Campa got another just three minutes later when Montserrat Hernández made a run down the left and put up a cross that Campa headed into the back of the net. A minute later Andrea Hurtado pulled one back for Santos when she was played in on net and hit a shot past a sprawling González. Santos pushed for an equalizer but América held fast and was able to pick up all three points on the afternoon.

Monarcas Morelia 1, Necaxa 2: Last season it took Necaxa until Week 17 to win their first game. This season, it was just three as they defeated Monarcas Morelia 2-1 in Morelia. Monarcas was at a disadvantage almost from the start as Nallely Magaña was sent off in the fourth minute with a straight red card for denial of a goal scoring opportunity. Morelia would get on the board first however when Dulce Alvarado hit a fantastic arcing shot from just outside of the box that goalkeeper Ana López could only wave at as it passed into the back of the net. But the tide of the game would turn as it wore on and Necaxa would equalize in the 62nd minute when she was able to get to a cross and head it past María Ayala. Then in the 79th minute a Necaxa corner kick went into the mixer in the box and a clearance only made it as far as Claudia Sánchez, who struck it hard and on net. The shot was true and gave Necaxa their first win of 2020.

Pachuca 1, Club Atlético de San Luis 2: A surprising result in a week with several surprising results as San Luis downs Pachuca in Pachuca. The game was scoreless until just before the half when a defensive breakdown allowed Daniela Carrandi to hit a wide open shot from inside the box to put the visitors up. Carrandi got her second of the evening when she converted a penalty in the 56th minute. Pachuca got one back in the 66th minute when Gloria Narváez hit a swerving bomb from about 30 yards out, but couldn’t find an equalizer.

Guadalajara 4, León 3: A barnburner in Guadalajara as Chivas down León 4-3. Yashira Barrientos scored the only of the seven goals in the first half when she got onto a corner kick in the 17th minute and knocked it in past Maricruz González, In the second half, Diana García pulled things level in the 54th minute when she was played down the right side of the pitch and hit a shot from the side of the box. It caught goalkeeper Blanca Félix out of position enough that she couldn’t make a play on García’s perfectly placed shot. A minute later, Barrientos would put Chivas back in the lead when she hit a header off of a corner kick that González had no shot of stopping. Ten minutes later in the 65th minute, León would draw level again when Claudia Cid got her head onto a free kick. The score would not stay even very long, as Miriam García got her head onto a corner kick in the 76th minute to put Chivas up 3-2 at this point. It looked like León would be able to salvage the draw in the 87th minute when Yamile Franco hit a free kick that hit off of the post. The rebound went straight to Joselyn De La Rosa, who hit it before it hit the ground into the back of the net. But as the clock approached 90, it was Rubí Soto who was the hero for Chivas when she was able to get to a pass from Barrientos off of a throw in and score the game winning goal.

Tigres UANL 1, Toluca 1: A good game between two good teams at El Volcán. Tigres scored first in the 21st minute when Natalia Villareal hit a nice cutback pass over to Blanca Solís, who blasted it into the back of the net. Tigres had a couple of instances in the first half where Katty Martínez had what looked to be plays that would have been up for consideration for VAR review for penalties but nothing was given. Mariel Román would get the equalizer in the stoppage before the end of the first half when she hit a world class free kick. Toluca goalkeeper Alondra Ubaldo made several fantastic saves to keep her team in the match and earn a tough point on the road.

Tijuana 0, Puebla 2: Another surprising result as Puebla goes to Tijuana and gets three points from Xolos Femenil, who are still missing key players who are away with the national team. Lupita Worbis put Puebla up for good in the 24th minute when she redirected a pass from Ivonne Najar past Guadalupe Olvera. Puebla got an insurance goal in the 36th minute when Diana Anguiano was able to capitalize on a poor clearance by Xolos Femenil and score.

Next week:

Friday, January 24:

Necaxa (1W 1D 1L) vs. América (3W 0D 0L)

FC Juárez (1W 1D 1L) vs. Pachuca (1W 0D 2L) - TUDN (8:55 PM Eastern/5:55 PM Pacific)

Saturday, January 25:

Atlas (3W 0D 0L) vs. Querétaro (0W 1D 2L)

Sunday, January 26:

Puebla () vs. Tigres UANL ()

Monday, January 27:

Toluca (1W 1D 1L) vs. Cruz Azul (0W 1D 2L)

León (0W 0D 3L) vs. Monarcas Morelia (1W 0D 2L)

Monterrey (1W 1D 0L) vs. Tijuana (1W 0D 2L)

Club Atlético de San Luis (2W 0D 1L) vs. Guadalajara (1W 2D 0L)

Santos Laguna (0W 1D 2L) vs. UNAM Pumas (1W 1D 1L)